Mt. Isa

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

October 17, 2011

Hey family,

Things are going well. Yes I'm a Zone Leader. It is only my first transfer as a ZL so I'm learning what things I need to do. The last week went pretty well. We had two tradeoffs which were good because I stayed in my area. I'm glad we have a small zone because I don’t know if I could handle too many more tradeoffs. It’s tough but a good learning experience. It is basically like running the area alone because the Elder you have with you knows nothing about what is going on and generally has the day to chill and relax. All good though. It is already week 6 so this is the last week of the transfer. Time really does just fly by it seem. I think they'll be a heap of changes in the Zone soon. There's been some drama over the last couple of weeks which will prolly prompt the Mission President to make some changes. We have a couple of missionaries that have been in their area for 6 months now so it is time for a change I reckon. My companion will be likely by leaving and I will prolly be the Senior Comp again...

Lately we have been working with a family in which the wife used to be less active but has recently started coming back. They have a less active girl living with them that is a good family friend, university aged. Another less active friend and another recent convert guy forms their main circle of friends. The recent convert guy had his Mission papers in but they all are struggling with they're testimonies and just keeping the commandments in general. They're good people it is just that they're not 100% committed. The couple, or the main family, are young (late 20's) with a couple of kids and the husband’s family lives very close to them. That family has heaps of drama in general but the husband has a brother that recently, in the last two years, came back from a mission in Sydney. He did really well down there and was doing well until 6 months ago when he literally went apostate, anti-Mormon all the way; beliefs, attitude, everything. He has the kind of personality that people seem to just love him, if you know what I mean. Anyway he works as a business partner with the husband of the main family. The brother, is strong in the Church, but over time within the circle of friends the apostate guy has just subtlety been working on all of them to get them to question their beliefs and now he is even trying to keep the recent convert from going on a Mission. The Mission President and the Stake President have talked to him now and they have straight up said that he's dangerous. The Elder have been working with them all for a while. They had come really far and even gained testimonies of the Church but now the apostate guy... has just got to them and has really just been causing a huge crap storm. It is really sad to see.

But good things are happening, I ran into a Christian that learned Hebrew and read the bible in Hebrew. That was fun. The other Elder Hatch in the Zone is from California but doesn't know his ancestry. We spend most of our P-days doing sports all day; good exercise. We had a big storm here two nights ago but we didn't get any hail just a lot of wind and heavy rain. It was a fun storm to watch; heaps of lightening. It was good. We have training in Brisbane tomorrow so we'll be riding the train in tomorrow morning. Tonight we will have 10 Elders staying at the Nambour flat so that will be quite the experience I reckon.

The Kiwi's beat the Aussie in Rugby Union which was quite exciting. We're thinking they're just going to smash France this next weekend in the final. It'll be good though. Love you. TTYL

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Two Years

This blog is dedicated to Kiefer and his work in the mission field for the next two years. November 2010 - November 2012

Mowing

Kiefer vs. the Paddock

Where in the world ...

Every Missionary loves a letter from a friend or family.

Mailing Address:

Elder Kiefer R. Hatch

Australia Brisbane Mission

P.O. Box 348

Hamilton

Brisbane, QLD 4007

Australia

Kiefer's is currently serving in Nerang which is part of the Gold Coast area of Queensland south of Brisbane. It is best to mail letters and (small) packages to the Mission home in Brisbane. Australian Customs opens and inspects all packages and their contents. Any non-commercially packaged food or questionable materials will be removed. I think want he would most appreciate are letters and pictures. It is best to take all letters and packages your friendly, neighborhood USPS because international mail has different regulations and costs that stateside mail. The Priority Flat-Rate options are the best. The USPS contracts all international mail through FedEx and the Flat-Rate options are the most reasonable cost-wise.

I have found that it takes about 10 days for Kiefer to receive a letter and a bit longer (depending on how long it takes in Customs) for him to receive a package.

The LDS Church also provides a "Pouch" system for single page, tri-folded letters adn requires only one US stamp. For instructions, please visit:

Kiefer's email is kiefer.hatch.@myldsmail.net. Please remember that he read his emails only once a week. Also, he has to pay to get a printed copy of emails and he has only one hour a week online. Mission rule allow him to email his immediate weekly but that is all. So don't feel neglected if he doesn't reply to your e-mail. He is not supposed to hence, this blog. Thanks!